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Background Residual speech sound disorder (RSSD) is a high-prevalence condition that negatively impacts social and academic participation. Telepractice service delivery has the potential to expand access to technology-enhanced intervention methods that can help remediate RSSD, but it is not known whether remote service delivery is associated with a reduction in the efficacy of these methods. This project will systematically measure the outcomes of visual-acoustic biofeedback intervention when delivered in-person or online. Methods/design This project, Visual-acoustic Intervention with Service delivery In-person and via Telepractice (VISIT), aims to treat 76 children in a parallel randomized controlled clinical trial in which children with RSSD will receive visual-acoustic biofeedback treatment either in person or via telepractice. Eligible children will be speakers of American English aged 9–17 years who exhibit RSSD affecting /ɹ/ but otherwise show cognitive-linguistic and hearing abilities within the typical range. All participants will receive twenty sessions of visual-acoustic biofeedback; they will be randomized, with stratification by pre-treatment speech production ability and site, to complete their treatment sessions either in the laboratory setting or at home via telepractice. For the primary outcome measure, blinded listeners will evaluate changes in the perceived accuracy of /ɹ/ production after the end of treatment. Discussion By comparing outcomes in children randomized to receive a standard course of biofeedback treatment either via telepractice or in-person, this study will provide evidence-based guidance for clinicians seeking flexible service delivery options for a challenging and prevalent condition. 

Abstract Mountains and islands provide an opportunity for studying the biogeography of diversification and population fragmentation. Aotearoa (New Zealand) is an excellent location to investigate both phenomena due to alpine emergence and oceanic separation. While it would be expected that separation across oceanic and elevation gradients are major barriers to gene flow in animals, including aquatic insects, such hypotheses have not been thoroughly tested in these taxa. By integrating population genomic from subgenomic Anchored-Hybrid Enrichment sequencing, ecological niche modeling, and morphological analyses from scanning-electron microscopy, we show that tectonic uplift and oceanic vicariance are implicated in speciation and population structure in Kapokapowai (Uropetala) dragonflies. Although Te Moana o Raukawa (Cook Strait) is likely responsible for some of the genetic structure observed, speciation has not yet occurred in populations separated by the strait. We find that the altitudinal gradient across Kā Tiritiri-o-te-Moana (the Southern Alps) is not impervious, but it significantly restricts gene flow between the aforementioned species. Our data support the hypothesis of an active colonization of Kā Tiritiri-o-te-Moana by the ancestral population of Kapokapowai, followed by a recolonization of the lowlands. These findings provide key foundations for the study of lineages endemic to Aotearoa. 

Mountains and islands provide an opportunity for studying the biogeography of diversification and population fragmentation. Aotearoa (New Zealand) is an excellent location to investigate both phenomena due to alpine emergence and oceanic separation. While it would be expected that separation across oceanic and elevation gradients are major barriers to gene flow in animals, including aquatic insects, such hypotheses have not been thoroughly tested in these taxa. By integrating population genomic from sub-genomic Anchored-Hybrid Enrichment sequencing, ecological niche modeling, and morphological analyses from scanning-electron microscopy, we show that tectonic uplift and oceanic vicariance are implicated in speciation and population structure in Kapokapowai (Uropetala) dragonflies. Although Te Moana o Raukawa (Cook Strait), is likely responsible for some of the genetic structure observed, speciation has not yet occurred in populations separated by the strait. We find that the altitudinal gradient across Kā Tiritiri-o-te-Moana (the Southern Alps) is not impervious but it significantly restricts gene flow between aforementioned species. Our data support the hypothesis of an active colonization of Kā Tiritiri-o-te-Moana by the ancestral population of Kapokapowai, followed by a recolonization of the lowlands. These findings provide key foundations for the study of lineages endemic to Aotearoa.